Eligible activities: how stacking projects differs from a standalone carbon project

Soil carbon credits reward what builds below the surface. Water quality credits reward what stops running off it. Both can be built around improvements to grazing land management, but each methodology has its own specific activity requirements. Here is how they compare and how they work together.

Eligible activities for soil carbon (ACCU Scheme)

AgriProve's soil carbon projects operate under the Soil Carbon Methodology approved by the Clean Energy Regulator. Eligible activities include changes to grazing management, pasture renovation, reduced tillage, and other practices that increase the organic carbon content of your soils. The key measure is what happens below the surface - how much carbon is being stored. For more information about soil carbon projects click here

Eligible activities for water quality credits (GLM method)

Water quality credit projects under the Grazing Land Management method focus on what happens above the surface - specifically, improvements to ground cover that reduce sediment and nutrient runoff. Eligible activities include:

• Matching stocking rates to forage budgets

• Rotational grazing and planned rest periods

• Fencing to manage grazing pressure on sensitive areas

• Water point development to distribute grazing pressure

• Land remediation including weed control and pasture management

How they work together

The activities eligible for both programmes overlap significantly. Improving grazing pressure management through rotational grazing or stocking rate adjustments builds soil carbon and improves ground cover at the same time. This is the practical foundation of stacking - one set of management changes, two sets of credits.

There are no eligible activities that actively conflict between the two methodologies. If you are uncertain about a specific practice, AgriProve and Verterra will advise during the project design phase.

Key points

• Soil carbon credits measure what is stored below the surface. Water quality credits measure ground cover improvement above the surface.

• Eligible activities for both programmes overlap - grazing management improvements serve both.

• Water quality eligible activities include stocking rate matching, rotational grazing, fencing, water points, and land remediation.

• No eligible activities actively conflict between the two methodologies.